We started hearing about a TV adaptation of Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger back in the spring. Then our 2016 Presidential election happened and it seems like now, more than ever, we could sure use the story of a black, male hero and a white female hero who love each other and join forces to fight injustice.
Freeform, which was formerly known as ABC Family, has just announced in a recent profile of the network by The Hollywood Reporter that they’re looking to premiere Cloak and Dagger in the winter of 2018. As of right now, there’s an initial pilot script that is currently getting a rewrite by showrunner Joe Pokaski.
As reported by CBR.com, Marvel’s Head of Television, Jeph Loeb thinks that this show will have a huge appeal to a YA audience. He says, “It’s a love story that happens to have characters that have always traditionally been in that age group. It’s not like we took something and made it into a YA. It speaks to a YA audience and is a YA property. Would I do ‘Punisher’ on Freeform? I don’t think that’s going to connect the same way.”
OK, first of all, Teen Punisher would be hilarious. But secondly, I agree that Cloak and Dagger would be a great show specifically for a YA audience, something rare in superhero television. Even something like Supergirl, which counts many young people among its viewers, is not designed specifically with that in mind, because the character on the show isn’t a teenage girl.
But Cloak and Dagger could be one of those shows that speaks to young people and inspires them to action by watching two characters from different backgrounds come together in love and solidarity as they take on crime and evildoers. There could be hope after all.
(image via Marvel Comics)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Follow The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google+.
Published: Nov 11, 2016 06:11 pm